My thoughts on the Phillies season.

The Phils take the series from the Rockies in walk-off fashion on Ryan Howard’s three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, winning 6-3.

Ryan Howard’s three-run home run caps a four-run ninth inning as the Phils win the series from the Rockies in walk-off fashion, winning 6-3.

The Rockies took the lead in the top of the third as Justin Morneau hits a lead-off home run, his tenth home run of the season, giving the Rockies a 1-0 lead. The Rockies added to their lead three batters later as, with one man on, and with one man out, Wilin Rosario hits an RBI double, knocking in Corey Dickerson, who had earlier walked, giving the Rockies a 2-0 lead. The Phils would get a run back in their half of the third as, with a runner on second, and with two men out, Ryan Howard hits an RBI single, knocking in Chase Utley, making it a 2-1 Rockies’ lead. The Phils tied the game up at two-all in the bottom of the fifth as, with two men on, and with two men out, Marlon Byrd hits an RBI single, knocking in Ben Revere, who had started the inning off with a single, then stole second base as Jimmy Rollins strike out, swinging, for the inning’s first out, while sending Howard, who had just been intentionally walked, up to second base. The Rockies tried to take the lead in the top of the seventh as they had the bases loaded via a walk to Dickerson, a walk to Rosario, moving Dickerson up to second base, a Carlos Ruiz throwing error, as he tried to picked off Dickerson at second base, moving both runners up a base, and a walk to Josh Rutledge, and with nobody out, pitcher Mike Adams, after he had replaced pitcher Antonio Bastardo on the mound, would get out of the inning by first getting pinch-hitter Carlos Gonzalez to hit into a 1-2-3 double play, as Dickerson is forced out at the plate for the inning’s first out, as Ruiz touched home plate, before throwing to first base, as Rosario moved up to third base and Rutledge moved up to second base, and then striking out pinch-hitter Troy Tulowitzki, swinging, for the inning’s final out. The Rockies regained the lead in the top of the eighth as, with one man out, DJ LeMahieu hits a solo home run, his first home run of the season, giving the Rockies a 3-2 lead. The Phils tied the game up at three-all in the bottom of the ninth as, with two men on, and with two men out, Utley hits an RBI single, knocking in Tony Gwynn, Jr., who had earlier reached base on second baseman Rutledge’s throwing error, then stopped at second base on Ben Revere’s single, while sending Revere, who had earlier singled, over to third base, before stopping at second base on the late throw to the plate. The Phils then won the game as Howard hits a three-run home run, his ninth home run of the year, knocking in Revere and Utley, giving the Phils a 6-3 walk-off win.

Roberto Hernandez received a no-decision as he pitched five and two-thirds innings, giving up two runs on six hits and five walks, while striking out four. Antonio Bastardo pitched a third of an inning, plus three batters, as he walked four. Mike Adams pitched an inning, striking out a batter. Jake Diekman pitched an inning, giving up a run on three hits, while striking out a batter. Jonathan Papelbon (1-1, 1.86) got the win as he pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. Jordan Lyles also received a no-decision as he pitched five innings, giving up two runs on five hits, four walks and a wild pitch, as he struck out five. Matt Belisle pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. Rex Brothers pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit. Nick Masset received his first hold of the year as he threw a 1-2-3 inning, striking out a batter. LaTroy Hawkins collected his first hold of the season, before taking the lost (2-1), as he went two-thirds of an inning, giving up two runs on a hit. Boone Logan received his third blown save of the season as he pitched to two batters, getting neither of them out, as he gave up two runs on two hits.

The Phils had nine hits in the game, with Ben Revere (Singles), Chase Utley (Single, Double, RBI), Ryan Howard (Single, Home Run, 4 RBIs) and Marlon Byrd (Singles, RBI) all leading the team with two hits apiece. Jimmy Rollins had the other Phil hit, a single. The Phils also had four walks (Rollins, Howard, Byrd, Dom Brown) and a stolen bases (Revere (13)), while the defense committed two errors (Cesar Hernandez (1), Ruiz (3)) and preformed a double play.

The Phils (23-27, 5th) will start a five-game series with the Mets (24-28, 4th) with a game tonight. The game will be played at Citizens Bank Park and it will start at 7:05 pm EDT. The Phils will start David Buchanan (1-0, 3.60), who is coming off a win against the Dodgers on May 24, as he pitched five innings, giving up two runs on five hits, while striking out two, in the Phils’ 5-3 win. He will be trying to add to his previous performance, while tying to lead the Phils to a series opening win. The Mets will counter with Zack Wheeler (1-5, 4.63), who is coming off a lost against the D-backs on May 24, as he went six and two-thirds innings, giving up three runs, only two of which were earned, on six hits and a walk, while striking out seven, in the Mets’ 3-2 lost. He is still looking for his second win of the season. The Phils will be looking to take the first game of this long series from the Mets.

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